1.an often descriptive name given in addition to the one belonging to an individual, usually a short form of the actual name or a name connected with one's character or hisrtory
2.a form of a proper name used by family or friends
how do we use it?
bruce philip james wallingford, jr. was much too much of a mouthful, so friends and family called the boy by his nickname, kit.
word quiz
the word "nickname" traces to the older word "ekename." the meaning of the "name" part of "ekename" is clear, but what do you think "eke-" meant?
a. familiar friend
b. less of everything
c. something added on
d. unusual place
key
[c]
back in the middle ages, people used the word "eke" for "something added on," as stated in answer c. logically, an "ekename" was an extra name added on to the regular name of a person or place. but clearly, it is hard to say the words "an ekename," and many people got confused about the word. when someone said "an ekename," listeners thought the person was saying "a nekename." because of that confusion, "ekename" gradually became "nekename." by the 1600s, a few more spelling changes had given us the modern form, "nickname."
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